ConvergeFood: looking back at the Maroua stage

From day one, the CTA-CAM team was in place for the session “Capacity Strengthening of ConvergeFood Cooperatives and Ecosystem of Support Actors for Investment Readiness”, from October 20 to 23, 2026. It brings together Far North cooperatives and the organisations that support them, with one goal: getting cooperatives ready to present sound projects to investors and funders.

Our view: an investor looks first at how quality and food safety are managed. After the good hygiene and manufacturing practices covered in Bertoua and Ngaoundéré, the Maroua stage links these requirements to the preparation of investment cases.

Work then moved into the meeting room. Representatives of Far North cooperatives and support ecosystem actors took their places around the work tables, under the programme banner: “Shared food systems priorities for a sustainable future”.

The CTA-CAM team and Georges Saka, UNIDO Coordinator, visited a dairy farm in the region. With members of the cooperative, they walked through the cattle shed and work areas and discussed day-to-day practices.

Our view: a sound investment project starts from the reality of the farm. Seeing the facilities on site anchors improvement plans in what the cooperative already does.

In plenary, Dr Sali Bourou, CTA-CAM expert, presented the control plan: limits to respect, monitoring, corrections and evidence. Representatives of the cooperatives and of the regional delegations of MINEPIA and MINADER followed the presentation and responded.

In small groups, with Dr Leila Fotzo, CTA-CAM expert, the cooperatives mapped their processes on flipcharts, step by step, from receiving raw materials to marketing. They then assessed their practices using a projected diagnostic grid, to identify what needs strengthening before approaching investors.